people

French Gerleman (St. Louis): Jim Engelhard has been promoted to vice president of construction sales. Engelhard joined French Gerleman in November 2004 as construction sales manager for the company's Maryland Heights, Mo., and Washington, Mo., branches. In his new position, he will continue to focus his team on growing electrical contractor sales in the same two branches. Engelhard has more than 18 years of experience in the electrical distribution industry. Before joining French Gerleman, he was with General Electric for 15 years in various positions.

IMARK Group (Oxon Hill, Md.): Robert P. “Bob” Smith will join IMARK as senior vice president. He will succeed IMARK's current president and chief executive officer, Steven Cunningham, at the cooperative's annual meeting in October. Smith has 30 years of sales and marketing experience, primarily in the electrical industry. Most recently, he was executive vice president of sales for the Legrand brands of Pass & Seymour, OnQ, Wiremold and Cablofil.

Legrand North America (Syracuse, N.Y.): John Hoffman has been promoted to executive vice president of sales and market development for the company's Electrical Wiring Systems (EWS) division. Hoffman joined the Wiremold organization in 1989 and has since held executive positions in sales, marketing and market development. His most recent position, vice president of market development for EWS, will allow for a smooth transition to his new role. Hoffman will be responsible for unifying the direction of the EWS sales organization, encompassing the Pass & Seymour, Wiremold and Cablofil brands. He will continue to focus the EWS market development team in driving a total solutions message for other Legrand companies, including On-Q, Ortronics and the EWS brands.

Pass & Seymour/Legrand (Syracuse, N.Y.): Pat Davin has been appointed vice president and general manager. In this role, Davin will provide leadership for the overall P&S brand. He will claim responsibility for the brand's profit and loss (P&L) and will develop P&S's strategic and operating plans — overseeing all aspects of marketing, customer and technical services, and engineering.

EGS Electrical Group, a division of Emerson Industrial Automation (Rosemont, Ill.): George Mulligan has been promoted to president of the company's Electrical Construction Materials Group (ECM), a manufacturer of electrical products for hazardous and non-hazardous locations. Mulligan succeeds Ron Orcutt who is retiring after nearly 13 years of service at Emerson and EGS. In his new position, Mulligan will have overall responsibility for operations, strategic planning and direction for the Appleton, ATX and O-Z/Gedney brands. Mulligan previously served as president of EGS Power Quality Solutions Group and Sola/Hevi-Duty. Mulligan joined EGS in 1985 as director of purchasing, before being promoted to several high-level executive positions within the company. Joe Corrigan has joined EGS as vice president of operations for ECM. Corrigan has been with Emerson for 19 years, most recently as a general manager at Emerson Process Management Valve Automation Division. Bill Estes joins EGS as vice president of supply chain. In his seven years with Emerson, Estes has held positions of increasing responsibility with ASCO Valve, the Motor Co., and most recently in the Emerson Corporate Procurement Group. Mike Kramer has been named director of operations for ECM, while maintaining responsibility for the ECM Heating Cable group's operations.

Ideal Industries Inc. (Sycamore, Ill.): John Spencer has been appointed national accounts manager. He has nine years of experience in the electrical industry, along with a strong background in the strategic distribution, market development, and national marketing. He will report to Bob Bukowsky, vice president of sales. Spencer comes to Ideal from Hubbell Lighting Inc. in Greenville, S.C., where he served as manager of strategic accounts and regional manager. Prior to that, he was a lighting solutions manager and account manager for GE Lighting (lamps) in Overland Park, Kan.

Dakota Supply Group (Fargo, N.D.): Following CEO Benn Herr's retirement this month, Todd Kumm has been appointed by the board of directors as the new CEO and Tom Rosendahl will serve as the new president. Kumm most recently served as chief financial officer and Rosendahl served as senior vice president, director of sales and marketing. Herr joined the Dakota Supply Group in 1972 and served as CEO since 1991. He will continue to serve on the company's board of directors until 2010. Herr also served on the board of directors of the National Association of Electrical Distributors from 1999-2004.

Summit Electric Supply (Albuquerque, N.M.): Dan McLaughlin has joined Summit Electric Supply as the company's new Dallas service center leader. McLaughlin's 28-year career began in 1979 with WESCO, where he started out as a truck driver. He worked his way up to branch manager in the 14 years he was with that company. In 1993, he joined Graybar as industrial sales manager and then as area manager for Dallas/Fort Worth. Most recently he served as region manager for Rexel Inc. in central Texas, managing 11 locations from Temple to Dallas.

Eoff Electric Supply (Portland, Ore.): Eric Wiesmann has been named Salem branch manager. Wiesmann, a native Oregonian, has worked for General Electric his entire 17-year career, serving as a sales representative to Eoff Electric. Wiesmann has had a heavy emphasis on customer service to the contractor and industrial customer — a customer base he served during his long stint at GE.

Eaton Corp. (Cleveland): John White has joined Eaton's Electrical Group as its energy management and environmental solutions manager. White has more than 16 years of experience in management, marketing and business development, and will have a major role in the delivery of Eaton's pledge to help its customers develop green facilities, alternative energy approaches and sustainability programs. Most recently, White held the position of director of business development for Constellation Energy Projects & Services Group Inc. He was actively involved in renewable energy projects, including development of new combined heat & power (CHP) plants for ethanol production. White served as a lead energy engineer with Johnson Controls, where he focused on educational and health-care facilities.

Kaman Corp. (Los Angeles): Neal Keating, who most recently served as chief operating officer of Hughes Supply, Home Depot, will become Kaman Corp.'s chief executive officer on or before Jan. 1. He succeeds Paul Kuhn, who plans to retire early next year. Keating will assume the roles of president and COO beginning Sept. 17.

AFC Cable Systems (New Bedford, Mass.): James “Jim” C. Dollins, vice president of product development, will retire. Dollins has held numerous professional titles. He was chairman of the National Armored Cable Manufacturers Association, chairman of the Wire and Cable Council of the Copper Development Association, member of the National Electrical Code Making Panel 8, member of the NEMA/UL Policy Committee, member of NEMA's Standards and Policy committee and board member for the International Association of Electrical Inspectors. Dollins developed several new armored cables, including branch-circuit MC cable, home-run cable, super-neutral cable, red metal-clad fire alarm and control cable, armored datacom cable and color-coded AC and MC cables. He was also a key force in obtaining official approval for use of armored cable product in more than 75 U.S. cities. A well-known sailboat racer and ski instructor, Dollins plans to spend more time on the open seas and the frozen slopes.

Leviton Manufacturing Co. (Little Neck, N.Y.): Ed Plaia has been appointed vice president/general manager for the company's commercial and industrial business. Plaia will lead product management, marketing and engineering operations for the company's commercial and industrial business, focusing on sales growth across all of the company's market channels. Plaia joined Leviton in 1985 as manager of manufacturing technology and was promoted to director of manufacturing technology and assistant vice president of manufacturing engineering. He also managed manufacturing operations and worked as plant manager/general manager and vice president/general manager for Leviton's El Paso, Texas, operations. In 2000, he was appointed vice president, manufacturing at the company's corporate headquarters.